In recent years, an autonomous distributed network such as an ad hoc network has been used, in which communication devices are coupled directly to each other to establish a network without using a network infrastructure with a base station, an access point, and the like.
In the autonomous distributed network, many communication devices are coupled to each other using a technique used for wireless connections of computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phone terminals, and the like without an access point, for example. In addition, in the autonomous distributed network, networks are autonomously established for addition and removal of communication devices serving as nodes. Thus, an effort to be made in setting the network may be reduced, and if a large number of nodes are provided or the configuration of the network is changed at a certain frequency, the autonomous distributed network is effective.
In the network, when a data packet is transmitted from a certain node through a relay node toward a target node, the data packet may not arrive at the target node depending on the state of wireless communication between the nodes forming a transfer path.
In order to improve the arrival rate, there is the following technique. In the technique, if a data frame that specifies a certain adjacent node as a relay node is transmitted and an ACK frame is not received from a global destination node within a certain time period after the transmission of the data frame, the data frame is retransmitted.
As related art, International Publication Pamphlet No. WO2011/013165 is known for example.